How do I type special ASCII characters using the keyboard in Windows 8 and 8.1?

On a standard 101 keyboard, special extended ASCII characters such as é or ß can be typed by holding the ALT key and typing the corresponding 4 digit ASCII code. For example é is typed by holding the ALT key and typing 0233 on the keypad.

Unfortunately, due to the design of the DUO computer, these special characters cannot be typed because there is not a keypad on the keyboard, nor does it have the numlock shared keys that a standard desktop or larger notebook computer would have.

NOTE: The numeric keys on the top of the keyboard above the alpha characters are not digitally equivalent to the numbers on the keypad and do not serve exactly the same function, even though they print the same number characters when pressed.

Additionally, the on-screen keyboard cannot be used to type characters either as there is no ALT key on the on-screen keyboard, and you cannot hold the ALT key on the physical keyboard while using the on-screen keyboard because the on-screen keyboard will disengage anytime a physical keyboard key is pressed.

You can use the Character Map program to add these special ASCII characters. Follow these steps to access the Character Map program:

Point to (but do not click) the lower-right or top-right corner of the screen, and then click to select the Search charm.

NOTE: The Windows Logo + Q key combination will also take you to the Search screen.

In the Search screen, in the Search field type Character Map, and then press the Enter key.

In the Character Map window, locate and double-click the desired character, and then click the Copy button.

Open the document you want to place the character in, place the cursor where you want the character located, right-click and then click Paste.

The selected character will now appear in the document at the location you specified.